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Pacquiao still favoured, but Erik's sparmates worry experts
By Salven L. Lagumbay Boxing-Central.
While Las Vegas oddsmakers continue to put Ring Magazine featherweight king Manny Pacquiao a slight favourite, not a few insiders have already taken notice of the disparity of the quality of sparring partners being employed by both camps. A day after Pacquiao welcomed a group of mediamen, mostly Mexicans, into his training lairs at the Wild Card Gym, Pacquiao continues to be a slight favourite over the Mexican icon, and is currently pegged at the MGM Grand as a 6-to-5 pick to beat him.
Pacquiao is also a -125 favourite, while Morales is +105, which means that a 100-dollar bet on Morales will net 105 dollars if the Mexican wins. Conversely, if Pacquiao comes out victorious, a 125-dollar bet will win only 100 dollars. Also, the latest Toprank.com poll reveals an interesting result, which has Pacquiao being favoured by 60 percent of the respondents.
Experts, however, have pointed out a glaring disparity in the quality of sparring partners being used by both camps, giving Morales a big edge in that department.
In addition to former world champ Johnny Tapia and WBO no. 1 Victor Polo, two unbeaten southpaw junior lightweight and lightweight have been sparring against the Tijuana native before they break camp next week. Polo was the same fighter who almost knocked the WBO featherweight crown off Scott Harrison's head, if not for what seemed like a controversial decision.
Twenty-four-year-old American Steven Luevano (27-0, 13 KO's) and Venezuelan Edwin Valero (12-0, 12 KO's) have been commissioned at the Otomi Mountains to help prepare Morales.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has been sparring against relatively unknown fighters Jose Sta. Cruz, David Rodela, Ronnie Cabili, David Avila, Raymundo Beltran, and Ugandan Justin Juuko, an aging former world title challenger.
About the only "quality" sparmate being commissioned by the Pacquiao camp is IBF super-bantam champ Israel Vasquez, who is deemed too small for Pacquiao.
By Salven L. Lagumbay Boxing-Central.
While Las Vegas oddsmakers continue to put Ring Magazine featherweight king Manny Pacquiao a slight favourite, not a few insiders have already taken notice of the disparity of the quality of sparring partners being employed by both camps. A day after Pacquiao welcomed a group of mediamen, mostly Mexicans, into his training lairs at the Wild Card Gym, Pacquiao continues to be a slight favourite over the Mexican icon, and is currently pegged at the MGM Grand as a 6-to-5 pick to beat him.
Pacquiao is also a -125 favourite, while Morales is +105, which means that a 100-dollar bet on Morales will net 105 dollars if the Mexican wins. Conversely, if Pacquiao comes out victorious, a 125-dollar bet will win only 100 dollars. Also, the latest Toprank.com poll reveals an interesting result, which has Pacquiao being favoured by 60 percent of the respondents.
Experts, however, have pointed out a glaring disparity in the quality of sparring partners being used by both camps, giving Morales a big edge in that department.
In addition to former world champ Johnny Tapia and WBO no. 1 Victor Polo, two unbeaten southpaw junior lightweight and lightweight have been sparring against the Tijuana native before they break camp next week. Polo was the same fighter who almost knocked the WBO featherweight crown off Scott Harrison's head, if not for what seemed like a controversial decision.
Twenty-four-year-old American Steven Luevano (27-0, 13 KO's) and Venezuelan Edwin Valero (12-0, 12 KO's) have been commissioned at the Otomi Mountains to help prepare Morales.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has been sparring against relatively unknown fighters Jose Sta. Cruz, David Rodela, Ronnie Cabili, David Avila, Raymundo Beltran, and Ugandan Justin Juuko, an aging former world title challenger.
About the only "quality" sparmate being commissioned by the Pacquiao camp is IBF super-bantam champ Israel Vasquez, who is deemed too small for Pacquiao.
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